WORLD : E. German Finance Minister Quits After Probe Is Disclosed
East German Finance Minister Ute Nickel resigned today after charges that she misappropriated funds while she was a Leipzig city official, delivering another blow to the nation’s transitional government.
The resignation occurred as East Germany’s beleaguered Communist Party was desperately trying to clean up an image stained by claims that corruption was rampant among senior party officials.
The development came the day after the deputy chairman of the Communist Party, Dresden Mayor Wolfgang Berghofer, 46, a key pro-reform Communist, and dozens of other party members resigned.
Prime Minister Hans Modrow, a pro-reform Communist, said he had accepted Nickel’s resignation today after the Leipzig state prosecutor announced over the weekend that he had begun an investigation into the charges against her.
Nickel was accused of authorizing illegitimate payments while she was a city official in Leipzig, but Modrow said she was not charged with profiteering.
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